OPSU Halts USAO’s Win-Streak

CHICKASHA, Okla. – Thursday night, the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (10-15, 6-11 SAC) suffered a three-set loss against Oklahoma Panhandle State University (8-13, 7-10 SAC). Prior to Thursday, the Drovers had won their last two matches, but they collided with a red-hot Aggies team that has emerged victorious in each of their last five matches.

With three matches remaining on the schedule for the regular season, the Drovers sit in eighth place in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings. At the conclusion of the regular season, the top eight teams in the conference will compete in the SAC Tournament, with a bid to the NAIA National Championship tournament on the line. USAO has qualified for the SAC Tournament as the No. 8 seed in each of the last two seasons. 

All three sets of Thursday's contests were tightly contested, but OPSU managed to hold off USAO long enough to capture victory. The Drovers attempted a late comeback in the first set, but ultimately fell 26-24. The Aggies increased their lead in the match to 2-0 with a hard-fought 25-22 win in the second set, followed by a 25-18 win in the third and final set.

At the conclusion of the match, the USAO offense produced 35 kills on a .058 attack percentage, while OPSU had 36 kills on a .194 attack percentage. The Drover defense contributed 47 digs and 4.0 total blocks, while the Aggies had 47 digs and 3.0 blocks. USAO scored on four aces, while OPSU scored on six aces. 

Offensively, USAO was led by Victoria Southerland's 10 kills, along with seven digs on defense. Isaline Jacqucemyn added seven kills, followed by Giselle Calderon with six. Calderon concluded with a match-high of four block assists. 

Samantha Perez contributed five kills on an impressive .571 attack percentage, and Gabrielle Gunnoe finished with four kills. 

Madison Garcia recorded a pair of match-highs with 15 assists and four aces. Kalaya Pierce followed with 12 assists and four digs. 

Yaiza Larrauri anchored the defense with 17 digs and a pair of assists and Andrea Maldonado added nine digs. 

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Drovers will return to Bisco McPherson Court on Saturday, October 28 as they host Wayland Baptist University. First serve is scheduled for 1:00 PM CT inside Drover Fieldhouse.

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